Author: Wollongong City Band

As 2020 approaches, we can look back on a great year for the Wollongong Brass & Wind bands. We played some great concerts, performed well in the NSW State Band Championships, and our junior bands are going from strength to strength. We’ll be trying hard to make next year even better.

To round out 2019, the Brass band will be performing for about 30 minutes on New Year’s Eve, so if you’re in Wollongong for the festivities you can hear us at Osborne Park (across the road from Belmore Basin) from 5:30pm. There will be plenty of music, food, and of course the fireworks to enjoy, so come and be part of the fun!

We’re please to announce that Kevin Skues is taking over the Musical Director role for the Senior Brass Band, and we want to say a big “Thank You” to Jonathan Gatt for his time as MD.

Jonathan’s musical expertise and guidance have been a great asset to the band, improving our musical performance both individually and as an ensemble. We look forward to welcoming Jonathan back to the band in the future, in whatever capacity he can assist us, once his current transport problems are resolved.

Kevin will have to “hit the ground running” to prepare programs for our New Year’s Eve playout and Senior’s Week concert, with only a few rehearsal times available before each event.

Welcome to the band, Kevin, we look forward to working with you!

Our combined Wind Bands will be playing on Saturday December 7 from 10am, providing light entertainment at the Dapto Uniting Church markets.

The markets are held at the church grounds at 122 Princes Hwy, Dapto, opposite Dapto Mall. We’ll be in the hall if it’s raining.

Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Des Cannings who was awarded Life Membership of the City of Wollongong Brass Band at our recent 85th anniversary concert.

Des has worked tirelessly over the years with our Junior Brass band and Beginner Brass band, as well as filling in as Musical Director for the Senior Brass from time to time. Under Des’s leadership the Junior band has won numerous competitions, performed in concerts, and taken part in tours and musical development camps.

Thanks again to Des for all the hard work for the band.

Join our Senior, Junior and Beginner Brass bands for their end of year concert, celebrating 85 years of the Wollongong Brass Band. We’ll have music for young and old, from The Wiggles to Tom Jones, to the sounds a Persian Market.

The concert also features our NSW State Champion Junior Brass band, and this year’s Beginner Brass will perform as a group for the first time.

Tickets are available online at TryBooking, or at the door.

The concert will be at the Figtree Anglican Church Auditorium on 23 November at 2pm. Afternoon tea will be provided, and there will be a great selection of raffle prizes, so come and join us for an afternoon of great music and entertainment.

Our Junior and Senior Wind Bands are gearing up for their next concert, where they’ll be presenting a program of dances, marches, and toe-tapping favourites that are sure to get your feet moving.

There’s music that tells a story, music that paints a picture, music to sing to, and music “for the mind”, but this time we’re focusing on the music that makes us get up and move. From the waltz to rock-and-roll, from the quickstep to the quick march, there is so much music that inspires us to get up and move our feet. We hope you can join us as we explore the world of music “for the feet”.

The concert will be at the Figtree Anglican Church Auditorium on 19 October at 2pm. Afternoon tea will be supplied, and there will be a great selection of raffle prizes. Hope you can join us!

Spring is in the air, and it’s Tulip Time in the Southern Highlands.

Our Junior Brass and Junior Wind bands will be taking part in the festival at Corbett Gardens in Bowral, playing at the rotunda from 11:30am to 1:30pm on Saturday 28 September.

Come along and enjoy the flower displays, the gardens, the music, and the food, it’ll be a great day out!

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior Brass Bands and their respective musical directors Des Cannings and Jonathan Gatt on their performances in the 2019 NSW State Band Championships!

Both bands performed extremely well on the day, and faced some tough competition.

The Junior band became the NSW Junior C Grade champions, and even more impressive was their 3rd placing in Open D Grade where they competed as a Junior band against a range of adult bands.

The Senior band also performed well in Open C Grade, placing 4th in the hotly contested division.

Congratulations to all the bands that competed in the championships, we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

Congratulations to our Wind Band and musical director Leanne Walton taking out 2nd place in the Open D Concert section at the 2019 NSW State Band Championships!

It was a great result for the band, and their first time in competition. The scores were very close, the Wind Band was just 6 points (out of a possible 250 points) behind the winners, Hills Music Academy.

Congratulations to all the bands that competed on the first day, and best wishes to our Junior and Senior Brass bands and all the bands competing on day 2.

The NSW State Band Championships are just around the corner now, and everything is coming together for our bands in their final rehearsals this week. There will be bands competing all weekend on 24 and 25 August, so please come along to “The Joan” at Penrith and show your support. If you can’t make it in person, you can always catch the live stream at www.brassbanned.com (if you miss the band you’re looking for, the stream now has a 4 hour “rewind”).

This year Wollongong has 3 bands competing in 4 categories:

• Open C Grade Brass
• Open D Grade Brass (Junior Band)
• Junior C Grade Brass
• Open D Grade Concert

The full weekend timetable is available from the NSW Band Association.

On Saturday our Senior Wind band will take the stage for the first time competing in Open D grade. For many of the band members it’ll also be their first time in competition.

Sunday will be a busy day for our Junior Brass band as they compete in both the Junior C and Open D grades. Some of the juniors will also be playing with the Senior Brass band in Open C grade, and some will have already performed on Saturday in the concert band competition (if you’re keeping count, yes, that means they will have played in all the events our bands have entered, we fully expect they’ll be exhausted by the end of it!).

It’s going to be a big weekend no matter what the outcome. We’re looking forward to the challenge, and best wishes to all the bands competing this year.